Stand for large screen television sets

Abstract

A television (TV) stand which facilitates the support, placement and removal of a TV, particularly a large screen TV, includes a horizontal panel support and opposed pairs of upstanding sidewalls that are attached to and extend upwardly beyond the panel. One pair of these sidewalls has members fixed in an upright configuration while the other pair has members which are pivotal. The pivotal wall members are each engagable with the fixed wall members by latches.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A stand for supporting a screen-equipped television receiver without interference of screen viewability comprising: a) a rectangular, horizontal, generally unitary panel means having a top surface, opposed ends, opposed sides and four corners, and including panel support means mounted on caster means for supporting said panel means in spaced, translatable relationship to an underlying floor surface;   (b) a pair of upstanding opposed end walls, each one of said end walls extending adjacent to and in contacting relationship with a different respective one of said opposed ends and being fixedly associated therewith, and each one of said end walls having a pair of lateral opposite end portions;   (c) a pair of opposed side walls, each one of said side walls extending adjacent to a different respective one of said opposed sides, and each one of said side walls having a pair of lateral opposite end portions;   (d) the relationship between said pair of end wall lateral opposite end portions and said pair of side wall lateral opposite end portions being such that an individual one of said end wall lateral opposite end portions adjoins a respective different one of said side wall lateral opposite end portions over each one of said corners when each one of said side walls is in an upstanding position that is also in contacting relationship with said adjacent respective one of said opposed sides, thereby to define an adjoining pair of wall end portions at each said corner and also to define an enclosed area on said top surface;   (e) hinge means associating each one of said pair of side walls with said adjacent respective one of said opposed sides for side wall pivotable movements relative thereto so that each one of said pair of side walls is outwardly and downwardly pivotable by said hinge means between said upstanding position and a downturned position;   (f) latch means functionally associated with each one of said end portions for reversibly individually engaging together said adjoining pair of wall end portions at each said corner so that each one of said pair of side walls is retainable in its said upstanding position; and   (g) said panel means has a plurality of chock bracket means associated with said top surface with each one said plurality of chock bracket means being located adjacent to a different one of said corners for abuttingly engaging lower adjacent side portions of a screen equipped television receiver which rests upon said enclosed area, whereby said television receiver is stabilized and limited in horizontal sliding mobility; whereby (i) when said side walls are in their downturned position said television receiver is liftable and depositable on said panel means within said enclosed area, and   (ii) when said television receiver is deposited within said enclosed area and said opposed side walls are in said upstanding position and so engaged together with said end walls by said latch means, said television receiver is fully visible over the adjacent one of said side walls.     
     
     
       2. The stand of claim 1 wherein each of said chock brackets is L-shaped when viewed in top plan.